Telematics is shifting from a vehicle-tracking tool to a core source of evidence for Fleet Managers looking to reduce costs, improve utilisation and make difficult fleet decisions with greater confidence.
Chris Tulloch, President, Custom Fleet, said connected vehicle data is now central to the company’s Strategic Advisory Services work, particularly where clients are trying to right-size fleets.
“It’s the best source of vehicle data,” Tulloch said.
“Given our value proposition through our Strategic Advisory Services team to do deep analytics to help clients right-size their fleet, the associated benefit from a cost perspective on running your fleet with less vehicles [is] significant.”
For many fleets, telematics has historically been associated with dots on a map, driver monitoring or confirming where a vehicle has been. While those functions remain important, the greater opportunity is using data to understand how vehicles are genuinely being used.
That includes kilometres travelled, hours of operation, idle time, trip patterns, site movements and whether a vehicle is regularly available but rarely required.
Building the case for fewer vehicles
Tulloch said telematics data provides a stronger foundation for fleet decisions than assumptions, historic allocation models or employee preferences.
“We’re seeing penetration of telematics continuing to increase, and benefits for clients,” he said.
Custom Fleet uses the data to help clients identify vehicles that may be underutilised, improve pool fleet design, assess replacement cycles and determine whether a fleet can deliver the same operational outcome with fewer vehicles.
The savings opportunity can be substantial when vehicle numbers, replacement timing, maintenance, fuel, insurance and administration are considered together.
“I think globally, through our Strategic Advisory Services Division, we recommended over a billion dollars in savings to clients in the last 12 months,” Tulloch said.
“Without telematics data, that number is nowhere near as high, and the insights are nowhere near as rich.”
The figure represents recommended savings rather than necessarily savings already delivered. But it illustrates how fleet data is increasingly being used to identify financial opportunities that may not be visible through lease schedules, fuel transactions or annual odometer readings alone.
Data does not remove the need for change management
However, Tulloch said fleet optimisation cannot be treated as a simple spreadsheet exercise.
Fleet Managers may identify a clear financial argument for reallocating vehicles or moving employees into a different make, model or fleet category. But the practical impact on drivers, operational teams and organisational culture must also be managed.
“There is a degree of vehicle as a benefit, so people become really emotionally attached to their vehicles,” Tulloch said.
He gave the example of a higher-kilometre vehicle that could appear suitable for reallocation to a lower-kilometre driver. While the data may support the move, the driver receiving that vehicle may feel they are being penalised for previously using their allocated vehicle responsibly.
“You’ve got a Ford Ranger that’s done 250,000 kilometres, and you’ve got another one that’s done 20,000 kilometres. Why don’t you swap them?” Tulloch said.
“The person who’s been really prudent and stayed on kilometres, we’re rewarding them by giving them a vehicle that someone’s been driving to and from the beach every weekend.”
The point is not that data-led fleet decisions should be avoided. Instead, it is that Fleet Managers need to balance utilisation data with operational requirements, employee expectations and a clear communication plan.
“If you just go and flip everyone out of vehicle type A into vehicle type B and move all the high-kilometre vehicles to the low-kilometre drivers, I think what the client would be left with would be organisational disruption,” Tulloch said.
From tracking to fleet strategy
The growing role of telematics is changing the conversation from vehicle monitoring to fleet strategy.
For Fleet Managers, the data can help answer more useful questions:
- Do we have the right number of vehicles?
- Are pool vehicles positioned where demand actually occurs?
- Which vehicles are underutilised?
- Are some assets being retained because of habit rather than operational need?
- Could different vehicle types, booking systems or shared mobility models deliver the same result at lower cost?
Tulloch said the process requires more than identifying a theoretical saving.
“It’s about finding the right recommendations that meet the needs of the client,” he said.
“Some of this stuff takes time. It takes work. It’s more those kind of factors; it’s not about how it looks on paper, it’s then having to live with the decisions within that organisation.”
For fleets facing cost pressure, vehicle supply uncertainty and the transition to lower-emission vehicles, telematics is becoming a more important source of evidence.
The organisations that gain the most value will not be those simply collecting more data. They will be those that use it to make practical, well-managed decisions about fleet size, vehicle allocation and operating models.
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